Aquent & AMA Compensation Survey of Marketing Professionals 2006

Apr 18, 2006 12:00 pm

Aquent, in partnership with the American Marketing Association (AMA) and with support from B2B magazine, today announced the launch of their Compensation Survey of Marketing Professionals 2006. The largest and most inclusive free survey of its kind, the results draw upon data sampled from over 225,000 marketing and creative professionals. This ambitious survey moved beyond examining salary trends to examining the environment that impacts marketing professionals today: skills in demand, professional development, hiring practices, organizational structures, marketing processes, and ethics. Findings from these modules will be released in the coming months. However, results of the permanent marketers' portion of the survey, as well as a real-time salary calculator, are available today at http://www.marketingsalaries.com.

Besides salary and compensation data, the survey uncovered a noteworthy new trend, which can be attributed to today's changing market climate that finds companies placing more emphasis on strategic marketing within their organizations. This has fueled a need for more top-level marketers. Consequently, with more positions available than there are top-tier candidates, a significant rise in status of mid-level marketers has become evident, presenting new opportunities for those at the entry level as well.

"We see a slight decline in aggregate salaries vs. 2005, across several levels," says Jenny Norwood, Aquent director of brand communications. "As we further analyze data gathered on hiring trends and skills in demand, we'll have great visibility into where marketing is heading." Designed and conducted by 6Degrees, the survey produced an additional benefit. While last year the study monitored 45 specific titles and positions, there were more than 300 total unique marketing titles provided by the survey participants. This year, 6Degrees utilized job responsibilities and seniority to synthesize this list into 11 groups based on marketing functions and three levels-entry, mid, and top.

"By statistically aggregating the participants based on their actual responsibilities and level of seniority," says 6Degrees Research Director Glenn Andersen, "we were able to help frame a more concise view of the marketing landscape and consequently create a more representative means to understand compensation measures for nearly 98 percent of all marketing professionals."

"These findings are particularly significant in today's highly segmented and continually changing market," says Nancy Costopulos, vice president of sales and marketing, American Marketing Association. "The information gathered from this survey will provide valuable insight into how marketing evolves over the coming years."

The marketingsalaries.com site was designed by well- known designer and Web animator Hillman Curtis, who designed the 2005 Aquent|AMA Survey site.